A shoulder to cry on
by livaaa54
Summary: One embrace. One quiet whisper. Kakashi is there to comfort her when she needs it most. One-shot.


**A/N:** hey all you Naruto fans! So I'm really nervous putting this story up... I've written heaps of stuff but I have never felt confident enough to post a story ... so I'm just going to start by posting this (extremely short) one-shot and if I get a good response I might post some of my other stories up. ^_^ eek anticipation!

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Sakura breathed heavily, she was exhausted and really didn't think she could take this cruel training anymore. Naruto, Kakashi and herself had been training from noon, and it was now well into the night. She knew her limit and wasn't going to be foolish.

"Okay, okay. I'm done..." Sakura had trouble controlling her ragged breathing. "We've been at this for hours... Please..."

Beside her, Naruto appeared, looking slightly disappointed that their training had ended so soon.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but not everyone has the stamina you do." She offered him a weak smile, but it quickly fell. Over the years, Naruto had only grown stronger and stronger, while she had been left behind in the dust. Naruto had a fierce determination for everything he did, whether it be becoming Hokage or bringing Sasuke home. Sakura's features darkened at the thought, it had been a little over 5 years since he had left the village and Sakura hadn't ever really moved on from the heartbreak he caused her.

Sakura knew she was just a silly little girl in love back then, and she had tried to get over him. But she knew that he held her heart, even after all the terrible things he had done. She still loved him, and that would never change.

Was he capable of loving her though? Was he capable of loving anybody for that matter? She didn't know, besides being on the same team as him, she had never gotten close to him, she had attempted, that was a fact. But succeeded? No.

Sasuke built a barrier around himself, and Naruto was the only one who had ever come close to getting past it, hell, even Kakashi would have gotten closer to him then her.

She looked over to her Sensei, who had appeared next to Naruto. When she looked at him, she couldn't help but see an older Sasuke, although he was definitely not as cold. She didn't know much, but from what little she could tell about her Sensei, she knew for a fact that he had grown up in a world of pain. And he had experienced it more times than anyone should ever have to in their entire life.

Suddenly she felt extremely selfish; Sasuke's betrayal was the only emotional pain she had ever experienced. And while she cried to the world and complained about how horrible her life was, the people around her were suffering far worse.

Kakashi, who had been watching Sakura intensely, noticed her distress and slipped a 20% off coupon for Ichiraku Ramen into Narutos hand and motioned for him to leave. Naruto, completely oblivious to the situation, let out a loud 'yaa-hoo!' And hurried over to the main street where he would relish in a few bowls of his favourite meal.

Once out of sight, Kakashi turned and walked closer to Sakura, who had somehow been too lost in thought to notice Naruto leave, despite his volume. Kakashi touched her shoulder gently and Sakura blinked a few times before looking up at her sensei.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei... I wasn't listening... what did you say?"

Kakashi stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Sakura... You seem a bit distracted. Is there something wrong?"

"Hm? Of course not." She lied.

"I've been around you long enough to know when something's wrong. Plus," he took his hand of her shoulder and tapped a finger on his covered eye, referring to the sharingan that lay beneath. "I can tell when you're lying."

Sakura let out a sigh, not even bothering to hide her distress. "What's it like?"

Kakashi was confused by her question. "I'm afraid I don't understand…"

Sakura knew she was stepping on sensitive ground, and she had to choose her words carefully. "Sasuke-kun and Naruto have experienced so much pain, and I'm not blind... I know you have too..."

Sakura took in a breath, waiting for a response from Kakashi, but when none came, she continued. "It's just; I can't help but feel guilty and completely weak. The largest pain I have experienced is when Sasuke-kun left the village…but that doesn't even compare to what everyone else has had to endure, and while everyone moves on, even with that much pain in their hearts, I still cry over a decision a boy made 5 years ago, and I can't do anything!"

Tears had been building up in her eyes and were now starting to spill. "Naruto works so hard to bring Sasuke back; he's always been the one, putting all his effort into his retrieval. But I've always been in the background! I'm completely useless!" Her body racked, as the tears freely fell down her face, she collapsed on the ground, partly from the exhaustion of training. She hugged her self tightly and shut her eyes, trying her hardest to stop crying. "I remember, the 25th Shinobi rule: 'A shinobi must never show their tears'. The enemy will sense your weakness and you will be crushed.

"But I have always failed in that area. I let my emotions get the better of me all the time... Even now, I feel hopeless."

Sakura continued sobbing for the next few minutes, trying to calm herself down. Throughout her entire ordeal Kakashi hadn't uttered a sound. Sakura was definitely the most emotional of his students, that was for sure. But she had never once opened up so much to him. Kakashi squatted next to her, a concerned look in his lone eye. He was just about to say something when Sakura once again spoke, in a barely audible whisper.

"Kakashi-sensei... I don't know what to do."

Kakashi didn't know what compelled him to do what he did next. And later, if anyone were to bring it up in conversation, he would deny it.

Slowly, Kakashi reached out to Sakura with one hand and pulled her towards him, enveloping her in an awkward, but comforting hug. He felt her body tense beneath him but he didn't let up. All these years he had devoted his attention to Sasuke and Naruto, not once thinking about Sakura.

He had judged her as weak and hadn't spared her a second thought about what a strong kunoichi she would become. This was now his time to show her that he cared, he needed to be there for her, to make up for all the times he wasn't.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he felt her relax into him. He whispered in her ear, "Sometimes… not moving on, is actually a hidden determination to never give up on something you thought was lost."

At first when she heard those words, Sakura wasn't entirely sure what they meant. It wasn't until Kakashi's Jonin jacket was fairly dampened with her tears did she realise the meaning behind them. The silver haired man let go of Sakura, and stood up, offering his hand to her. Kakashi felt her small hand in his own and pulled her up.

"Thank you, Kakashi." Sakura said quietly, bringing her green eyes to meet his own, which had widened slightly at the lack of honorific.

They stood there, in training ground number 3 for what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a few precious moments, gazes locked. In those few moments, Kakashi and Sakura understood each other entirely. Both their worlds became one, and all their pain was forgotten, if only for those few moments.

But then the moment ended and the world returned to how it once was.

The silver haired Jonin gave Sakura one of his signature upside-down-U smiles. "Come on Sakura, let's go see how that knucklehead teammate of yours is managing with the fake coupon I gave him." He looked at her and winked.

Sakura giggled at her sensei's actions; no doubt Naruto would be furious. The pair then headed off towards Ichiraku Ramen in a comfortable science.

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**A/N:** so that's that... tell me what you guys thought :)


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